This line is the most common response to the 3. e5, the Advance Variation of the Caro-Kann, which has gained popularity after having previously been widely regarded as inferior for many years, owing chiefly to the strategic demolition that Aron Nimzowitsch (playing as White) suffered at the hands of José Capablanca in one of their games at the New York 1927 tournament:

The Advance Variation has since been revitalized by aggressive lines such as the Bayonet Attack (4.Nc3 e6 5.g4) favored by Latvian Grandmaster Alexei Shirov or the less ambitious variation (4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3) popularized by English Grandmaster Nigel Short.